


Doubt Thou The Stars are Fire

by TheSmellOfRainOnRoses



Category: Stitchers (TV)
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn, canon-divergent, unrequited feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-04-06 13:58:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 9,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4224327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSmellOfRainOnRoses/pseuds/TheSmellOfRainOnRoses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cameron realizes his feelings for Kirsten. Previously a  one-shot, but updated to be a multi-chapter fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Never Doubt He Loves...

Cameron should be used to this by now. At the very least he should know better. He saw how the residual emotions affected Marta, and knew they would affect Kirsten too, regardless of how different she is from her predecessor.

Still, Cameron can't keep himself from hoping they are real.Each time Kirsten bounces out of another person's memories with some new sense of an emotion or a glance at him that seems to hold a flicker of caring- he doesn't dare call it love, because he is not naïve- he finds himself wishing even more that what she feels is real or that it becomes so.

He isn't sure when he started to feel something more for her than just the general need to protect her that was crucial to his job, but his dreams were the reason he realized how he felt.

Cameron used to dream of what happened to Marta- how she stayed in too long and he had to bounce her, even though he knew what could happen. He would wake up soaking in his own sweat and gasping for breath; the only thing running though his mind was the mantra all my fault, all my fault, until his alarm would go off and he would force himself to stop and go on with his day. After Kirsten started working for the Stitchers Program, she had replaced Marta as the stitcher who stayed in someone else's mind too long. He knew it was just because he didn't want to see that happen again and he didn't want to be responsible for destroying another person's life.

But, as Cameron gets to know Kirsten better and was dragged into dangerous situations by her on an almost daily basis, his dreams have begun to change. In them, Kirsten is no longer a victim of an extended stitch, but rather a victim of the dangerous situations she gets them into. The dreams almost always involve her opening her mouth when she shouldn't and angering the culprit into taking action, but nevertheless he always wakes up feeling as though it was his fault she died. Needless to say, when he sees her walk into the lab safely he inwardly breathes a sigh of relief.

Cameron has always been a worrier. It is something he has known about himself for a long time, but these recent dreams have felt like more than just the natural worries one has about a coworker dying while stand by, unable to do anything to help. Along with the feeling of guilt, he awakens to the thoughts, " _Why her? Why not me? I should have saved her._ " After a few nights of these dreams, Cameron realized that he didn't want to lose her, to death, or coma, or even to the latest mystery they were trying to solve. He wanted her to be a permanent part of his life as a friend, a partner, and even as a girlfriend.

Unfortunately, Kirsten's temporal dysplasia doesn't allow her to recognize or feel emotions herself, which is why the stitches and the residual emotions affect her so much. It also means that she will probably never feel the same way, so Cameron will keep his feelings to himself, at least until he figures out how to tell her and how he will deal with the altogether too likely rejection she will dole out in that blunt, cold-hearted way she says and does everything.


	2. The Greatest Prison People Live in is the Fear of What Other People Think...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameron is left to deal with his feelings, and his fear of Kirsten's response to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> Sorry for the long wait between chapters, my life got a little hectic, but it should be calmer now. I already have a plan for my next chapter, so I hope to have it finished on Friday. Again, this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine, and constructive criticism is welcome!  
> Thanks for reading!

Cameron would not consider himself particularly brave. Before he joined the Stitchers Program, the bravest thing he did was try out a new Thai place for dinner. Then he was drafted into helping create and implement this breakthrough technology. The dangerousness of it initially excited him, but after a few stitches, his excitement faded into wariness, waiting for the other shoe to drop-and drop it did.

Now, being dragged into the field, Cameron has been becoming more immune to fear, or more capable of dealing with it. Yet, he still shies away from mentioning anything about his feelings to Kirsten. He knows that she is getting better at understanding emotions, from the stitches, and she has been becoming more personable, but he knows that she still would not respond with an “I love you too, Cameron,” and he can’t take anything less.

Growing up, Cameron was always one of the nerds, which meant he got picked on a lot. In fact, that is why he was upset when Fisher called him “nerd guy,” but that is beside the point. He didn’t have a real relationship until he was in college because he was so awkward around girls for the longest time. Hell, he probably still is. In high school he had asked “the girl of his dreams” (at least he thought she was) to the prom, and after he had finished asking her, she stared at him for a minute and then laughed. So, needless to say, Cameron was scarred by that rejection, and it still haunts him to this day.

The first few weeks after he realized how he felt, the fear of the (inevitable) rejection nearly suspended his ability to act normal around Kirsten. Camille and Linus had noticed and asked if he was feeling okay, and when he claimed that he was fine, the knowing and pitying glance they exchanged told him all he needed to know. Kirsten even asked him what his problem was in that distinct manner of hers, but she didn’t press when he said nothing was wrong.

Now, Cameron can function semi-normally around Kirsten, which is good because it may have endangered their lives once or twice when they were in the field. Now though, he is having more trouble keeping his feelings to himself. Every time she stitches into a new subject and he sees her twitching and thrashing in the tank, he feels it surge up in him. And when she emerges from the tank and he rushes over to make sure she is okay, he has to bite his tongue to keep the words from slipping out of his mouth.

He isn’t sure what caused this change. He still thinks that her rejection of him is inevitable, and yet he still feels the need to tell her how he feels. Maybe it is because he promised her they would not have any more secrets, and he already feels bad for not explaining the scar on his chest. He keeps telling himself that he will tell her about both his scar and his feelings soon, when the right moment comes along.


	3. Which Is The True Nightmare, The Horrific Dream That You Have In Your Sleep Or The Dissatisfied Reality That Awaits You When You Awake?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameron lets it all out...but does he really?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with previous chapters, this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are my own. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as are any opinions on the story! Thanks!

_Cameron could only watch as Kirsten thrashed in the tank, straining against the memories of their latest “sample.” Then he heard Kirsten say “Exit Pincode: iheartlinus” just before her eyes flew open and she sat up in the tank. He practically ran over to her in his haste to make sure she was okay. This was a particularly difficult stitch for Kirsten though he could not be entirely sure why, as the sample file showed no major stressors, other than his death. After Kirsten had passed all the information she had gained to Maggie, without explaining why the stitch was so tough, she asked Cameron if he would take her to his place and stay with her. He was surprised by her request but readily agreed and she visibly relaxed._

_“Residual Emotion, Residual emotion,” he repeated to himself, because her request and reaction to his response had given him a glimmer of hope._

_Upon arriving at Cameron’s apartment, Kirsten enticed him into playing a few rounds of chess, which she dominated, before her eyes started to droop. He then walked her to his room and tucked her in before grabbing his laptop and settling down to watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones._

_Three hours later, Kirsten woke up from her sleep. Cameron looked at her face and saw her usual self, uninfluenced by the emotions of the stitch, for now at least. Damn, she had a quick recovery time. As he studied her face, she studied his, apparently looking for something. He guessed she found it because a moment later she burst out with “Cameron, how did you get the scar on your chest?” Well, some things never change…._

_With a sigh he said “I was born with a congenital heart defect. Initially it was not a big deal, but I was told to refrain from extensive rigorous activity. The summer before I started high school, I had to have open heart surgery to repair the defect. After the surgery my activity was limited for a time, and I read as much as I could and threw myself into my studies.” Cameron never looked up as he was telling his story and he began to rub at the back of his neck nervously. “I guess that’s why I hate it so much when Fisher calls me ‘nerd guy.’ I feel like I never got a choice to be anything else, and I resent that people made fun of me about it.”_

_Shockingly, Kirsten remained silent throughout his story, and he could feel her eyes on his face, though he still refused to meet them. After he finished, she still remained silent, and Cameron could feel the pressure to tell her about his feelings building, until he blurted out, “While I’m telling you everything about myself, I should also tell you that I think I am in love with you and I’ve known it for a while…”_

_Moments passed in silence, and Cameron finally found the strength to look at Kirsten’s face. Her face was completely devoid of emotion and she was just looking at him blankly. She said, “Cameron…I…don’t know what to say. I…don’t….” She trailed off, still looking at him vacantly, until a phone ringing cut through the silence between them._

Cameron’s eyes flew open and he looked over to see “Ballbuster” flashing across his cell phone. Of course she would be the one to wake him up from his latest emotionally draining nightmare. Needless to say, Cameron did not think that he could act normally around Kirsten for a long time to come.

“Hello Pork Chop, why are you waking me up this early?” Cameron asked groggily…


	4. Maybe Your Weird Is My Normal...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirsten notices something is up and resolves to do something about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I'm hoping to make up for it with next week's chapter. Again, this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine. Feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Kirsten would be the first to admit that she is not great at picking up on other people’s emotions. Though Ed had trained her to read body language and recognize emotions so that she could function semi-normally, she still had trouble sometimes, especially when it came to analyzing new people. But, by this point, she felt she knew Cameron well enough to read his emotions from his face, and lately something was not right.

She first noticed something was up when Cameron avoided meeting her eyes. Then, she noticed that he stopped using his little pet names for her, and though she would never mention it, she liked it when he used those nicknames. So, when she noticed these things and the tension in Cameron’s face and body, she asked him what was wrong with him. He responded with a terse “I’m fine,” and she could tell that he didn’t want to talk about it, so she let it go for now. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few weeks later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cameron could say he was fine all he wanted, but Kirsten knew better. For a few weeks after she had first approached him about his weird behavior, he had returned to acting semi-normally- though he didn’t use nicknames for her as often as he had originally. Then suddenly Cameron was acting especially strange and she still could not figure out why. 

It started that morning she called Cameron early. She usually wasn’t up before him, and when his voice sounded strange she thought that perhaps he was slightly upset that she woke him up. But, later that day at the lab he was even acting strange. She kept catching Cameron looking at her with a strange expression on his face, something like a combination of fear, resignation, and longing. When he noticed her looking he cleared his throat and looked away, refusing to meet her eyes. He also didn’t really talk to her, other than to check in and make sure she was okay during the stitch. He responded to direct questions from her, but when he interacted with Linus and Camille as he did every day, she knew he was avoiding her.

Being a very direct person, Kirsten would usually just go up to Cameron and just unleash her questions in a blunt manner, but she felt that he would not respond to this method. So she decided to ask Camille for help in formulating a plan. She resolved to talk to Camille over dinner that night, but first she would need to study Cameron some more to see if she could figure out what exactly that look on his face was. Maybe that would help her figure out what was up with her “guardian angel,” (as she liked to think of Cameron) and how she should best approach him about it.


	5. If Plan A Doesn't Work, Don't Worry There Are 25 More Letters...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirsten and Camille formulate a plan to get Cameron to tell Kirsten what is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! I was going to post it Wednesday, but I guess the Archive crashed or something, and I have been out the past couple of days. As usual this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine, and comments are always welcome!

Camille had laughed for a good 10 minutes when Kirsten had brought up Cameron’s behavior and the look on his face. Kirsten thought she should have known better than to think that Camille would be outright helpful, but she thought that their new friendship would have made her roommate more willing to help. 

After Camille (finally) stopped laughing, she said, “Are you serious? It’s so obvious what is up with Cameron that Linus and I were taking bets on who would figure it out first, you or Maggie. My money is on you, of course.” 

Kirsten replied, “Well maybe it was obvious to you, but for some people it isn’t that easy to tell what someone is thinking or feeling, let alone what is making them feel that way. I’m worried about Cameron, Camille, and I need your help.” She was beginning to regret asking her roommate for help, especially due to the smug look on Camille’s face.   
Luckily for Kirsten, Camille knew she was just worried about Cameron (and her relationship with him) and agreed to help her figure out how best to approach him and get him to explain what is up with him. The plan they came up with was, in Kirsten’s opinion, foolproof, but Camille didn’t think Kirsten would be sensitive enough to get Cameron to explain what was really bothering him. But Camille knew better than to tell Kirsten this.

Their plan was surprisingly simple, considering Camille’s penchant for the dramatic, but it was also clever and elegant. Kirsten, Camille, and Linus (whom Camille was certain she could get on board) would order takeout from Cameron’s favorite Thai place and would show up for a pop-up game night, given that Cameron had cancelled their last few regular ones. Once there, they would play their usual Settlers of Catan while eating the food, drinking, and discussing the latest Game of Thrones episode. After they wrapped up the game, Camille and Linus would find a reason to leave without Kirsten. From there, she would have to lure Cameron into a sense of comfort and get him talking.

Now all they had to do was prepare Kirsten for the talking portion of the evening, starting with how she was going to make him feel comfortable. Kirsten’s idea was to tell a story from when she was growing up (after she had been left with Ed) that “meant something to her,” not that any of her memories before the program meant much of anything to her. Camille rejected that immediately citing the fact that Cameron knows those memories don’t mean that much to her, and it would definitely put him off. Camille’s idea was to have Kirsten talk about the residual emotions and how they affect her, especially when her friends aren’t around to check in on her and make sure she is okay. 

Upon hearing Camille’s idea, Kirsten said, “The only thing telling him about the emotions will do is make him more of a mother hen. He’ll start asking more questions about how I feel right now, and what makes them better.” Camille pointed out that this is exactly what they want, “Cameron is most comfortable when he is mothering you Kirsten. It makes him feel better to look after someone, rather than having everyone look after him all the time.” 

Kirsten looked slightly confused for a moment before asking, “What do you mean ‘having everyone look after him all the time?’” So Camille had to tell Kirsten about Cameron’s heart condition and the surgery he had to have, which explained the scar on his chest. (Camille also explained that she found this out from Linus because he was concerned about his friend’s foray into fieldwork.) Now Kirsten looked mildly upset. She didn’t understand why Cameron wouldn’t tell her this, or what was currently bothering him- she thought they were closer than that. 

In the end, Kirsten agreed to Camille’s method, though she still voiced her doubts that it would be effective. Though Camille insisted that her method would work, she knew it all depended on what Kirsten’s tone and body language conveyed to Cameron, and how he responded those factors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next: Carrying out the plan...


	6. Things Don't Always Go According To Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirsten implements Plan A.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,   
>  Again this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine. I hope you enjoy, and as usual comments are welcome! How about that finale though?! I was definitely wrecked, but thank goodness we get a season 2.

As Camille predicted, it was easy to get Linus on board with the plan. So on Friday night after work, Kirsten, Camille and Linus showed up on Cameron’s doorstep waiting for him to answer. He answered the door in sweats, a doctor who shirt, and his glasses with a look of sheer confusion on his face. “Did…Why…” Cameron stuttered, shocked at the appearance of his friends on his doorstep. “We didn’t have plans tonight, and I’m tired, so thanks for stopping by…” 

Camille didn’t give him a chance to finish as she pushed past him into the apartment, saying, “We haven’t had game night in weeks, and I think I can finally win. So, suck it up because I, for one, am not leaving until we have played a game.” As she talked, Kirsten and Linus edged their way into the apartment, leaving Cameron gawking at the empty space in the hallway before closing the door.

Cameron knew the only way to get his friends to leave was to play the game with them, so he settled down at the table with them. Unlike their other game nights, Cameron was subdued and a little unfocused. So, Linus wound up winning, and he made sure to let everyone know, before dragging Camille away for “celebratory ice cream.” Camille did make sure to give Kirsten one last meaningful glance before she walked out the door.

Cameron and Kirsten stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before both began to clean up from their dinner and the game. Kirsten stood watching Cameron wash the dishes, wanting his full attention before she began to speak. When he had finished with the dishes, he turned around and looked at her expectantly.

“Cameron, something’s been up with you lately, and I think it is ridiculous that you keep asking me to trust you but you refuse to trust me.“ …Oops. Cameron’s sigh indicated that she had screwed up. Kirsten meant to stick to Camille’s plan, she did, but she wasn’t so great at not saying what she was thinking. But maybe the plan could still be salvaged, so she decided to try again. 

“That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about tonight. I’m sorry. What I wanted to talk to you about was the residual emotions from the recent stitches. Since we haven’t really been talking as much recently, I’ve been trying to talk to Camille about how I feel after the stitches.” At this, Kirsten noticed what looked like a mix of guilt and concern on Cameron’s face, but she continued before he could interject. “Anyway, she said it seems that the residual emotions are not fading as quickly as they have before, and I thought you should know, in case it means anything.” 

The guilt faded from Cameron’s face, but the concern remained. He replied, “Thanks, Stretch, for letting me know. I don’t think we should discount the fact that the effects of the stitches are lasting longer, but I don’t think we need to be too concerned right now. I’ll try to keep a closer eye on you, and Camille should still continue to monitor how long they last. It is possible that the more you stitch, the longer the residual emotions last.” With that, Cameron had dismissed her without becoming the “mother hen”, and based on the relatively tense set of his shoulders, Kirsten could tell that their genius plan had not worked in the least.

Cameron was again watching her warily, as if he knew what she had been planning. After a few tense moments of sizing each other up, waiting for the other to say or do something, Cameron moved around the island and toward the door, gently ushering Kirsten with him. 

“Listen Princess, like I said if we monitor the emotions, we can figure out if we really need to be concerned, and if you feel anything strange, call me. Now, I really am tired, so I’m going to take you home now, and then I’m going to go to bed.”

As Cameron was driving back to his apartment after dropping Kirsten off, he couldn’t help but envy her lack of time perception, only because it meant she had no concept of how monumentally long the silent and awkward 20 minute car ride to her house was. He was also dreading whatever her next tactic would be to get him to reveal the truth, because it was likely to be thought out better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next: Cameron and Linus have a bro talk & Camille and Kirsten go back to the drawing board...


	7. Friends Are The Most Important Ingredient In The Recipe Of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linus tells Cameron what's up and Camille and Kirsten go back to the drawing board.

Cameron couldn’t say he was surprised that Linus decided to drop in Saturday afternoon. He was part of Kirsten and Camille’s failed plan the night before, and he was sure that Linus was checking in. So he let his best friend in, and got ready for a “guys night,” hoping that Linus would just let him off without prying. But who was he kidding; of course Linus was going to make him talk.

“Come on man, you have to tell her.” Cameron sighed, realizing he wouldn’t even get a small reprieve from his friend. So he decided to play (slightly) dumb.

“Tell her what, Linus?” As he suspected, Linus just raised one eyebrow at him while rolling his eyes.

“Don’t play stupid Cameron- you are way too smart and too easy to read for that. You need to tell her you love her. Keeping it to yourself is only torturing you and straining the relationship that you do have with her.” Cameron could see his point, but the logical side of his brain was not really in control of this situation.

“Linus, you don’t understand. If I tell her and she doesn’t feel the same, or worse- she shrugs it off, I don’t think I’ll be able to work with her again. I’d rather torture myself and have a strained relationship with her than know that she doesn’t feel the same.” As he was speaking, Linus started shaking his head.

“Cameron, you haven’t seen it because you have been avoiding Kirsten, but she misses you. This is the girl who generally accepts that people are gone the second they leave her and has not concept of time. But she misses you. Cameron, _that means something_.” At that, Cameron gave up all pretense of rational thought; _she misses me,_ echoing through his head. Finally he started to acquiesce, maybe Linus was right and Kirsten did care about him a little- she was really trying hard to figure out what is going on with him.

“Okay Linus, I’ll tell her. But I want to wait just a little bit longer. While she may be ‘great’ at processing things immediately, that doesn’t mean she should be. According to Maggie, the Stitchers technology was mostly designed by her mother, and her father took all the credit for it after she died. I don’t want to spring too much on her at once. Call me a worrywart, but with the extending duration of the residual emotions from her stitches, I’m concerned that loading all this on her could be dangerous.” He’s said it before, and he’ll say it again, he’s a huge worrier and he always will be (especially when it comes to Kirsten).

Linus nodded and said, “Alright, enough of this for now. We’re having guys’ night, so break out the beer, and I’ll call for pizza.”

 

_________________________________Meanwhile_________________________________

 

Kirsten had laid out the epic failure that came of the plan to Camille, who was unsurprised.

“Honestly, I was expecting the plan to fail Kirsten. But, don’t worry- I’ve been thinking, and I have come up with an idea that even you can’t screw up. In fact, I think you are perfect person to carry this out.”

Kirsten raised one eyebrow at her roommate. If this plan was so much better than the last one, why didn’t they try it first?

“Kirsten, you may have noticed this, but most people are not as up front as you.”

Kirsten scoffed and said, “The world would be much easier if they were.”

“Listen, there are two things that make normal people say what is on their mind- anger and alcohol. We both know that Cameron is not one to get drunk, especially if other people are drinking.” Both Kirsten and Camille rolled their eyes at the thought of Cameron’s mothering ways (even though they both appreciated having someone look after them). Kirsten continued the thought, “So that means we have to get him really angry.”

“And you know what makes him the angriest Kirsten?” Kirsten shook her head, so Camille continued. “He gets particularly worried when you put yourself in danger, and when you get out of the dangerous situations he gets angry that you put yourself in harm’s way, right?”

Kirsten thought for a minute and nodded. “So all I have to do is be myself and go out into the field. That I can do.”

Camille smiled. “See what I mean-even you can’t screw this up.”

The roommates toasted their genius new plan with a glass of red wine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, 
> 
> As usual this is un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to comment and let me know what you think. I haven't mentioned this before, but I am willing to take prompts, because we all need some fluff in our lives. (You can post them in the comments, message me, or request them on Tumblr. My username is ohmylecter. (Fair warning, I post/reblog a lot of random things, not just Stitchers.))
> 
> Also, is it October yet?


	8. If You Can Lessen The Chance Of A Bad Injury By Being Strong, You Have To Do It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirsten wakes up in the hospital after investigating a case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while! I've been a little busy getting my stuff together so I can leave for grad school tomorrow. I apologize in advance for the lack of Cameron in this chapter. I PROMISE he will be there in the next chapter (and he & Kirsten will have a talk). Again, this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine. Comments and criticisms are always welcome!

Beep…Beep…Beep…Kirsten’s eyes flutter open to reveal Camille and Linus looking relieved and worried.

“Oh thank god, she’s waking up. Should we call Cameron and let him know?”

“No Linus, he only just left and he needs to get cleaned up and sleep. She’ll still be here when he wakes up.”

At this point, Kirsten sees Maggie walk briskly into the room and preemptively rolls her eyes at the lecture she was going to get. Linus and Camille backed into a corner of the room, looking mildly alarmed.

“Kirsten, this is exactly why I didn’t want to let you into the field in the first place. We have special teams designated to go out and do the fieldwork so that assets such as Dr. Goodkin and yourself are not put in any major danger. You are much harder to replace than them. Once you are healed, you will not be allowed to participate in any more fieldwork without the support of that team. I suggest you rest more, gunshot wounds take time to heal.”

Kirsten nodded along, but as soon as Maggie left the room, Kirsten turned to Camille and Linus demanding, “How did I get shot? What happened? How long have I been here?” Camille and Linus shared a worried look.

“You have been here for three days. What’s the last thing you remember?” Camille asked her roommate, wondering how bad her amnesia was, and how long it would last.

Kirsten’s face scrunched up as she tried to remember the events from four days ago. “I can’t be entirely sure, because of my issues with time, but I remember stitching into that John Doe, Ichabod, and going to his apartment with Cameron to find out more about him. Is Cameron okay?”

For the first time she can remember, Kirsten feels what she would describe as worry. It’s strange, being able to feel and process something her own emotions, but she refuses to let that thought distract her from finding out what happened to her and Cameron. Luckily, Linus doesn’t make her wait for the information.

“Cameron’s…okay. He wasn’t hurt or anything, but he was so worried about you that he was being a basket case. He wouldn’t leave the hospital and I really don’t think he was sleeping. We only just got him to go home to get some rest and a shower, because he was starting to smell.”

Kirsten nodded, keeping the intense relief that flooded through her to herself. Again, she registered that she had felt and recognized an emotion of her own, and she was slightly impatient for Cameron to return so she could tell him about it.

Camille, who had been studying Kirsten closely, jumped in to explain what happened. “We don’t really know exactly what happened because you were not conscious and Cameron was too busy hovering at your bedside to tell us any details. From what we can gather, you came across some suspicious notebooks at the apartment. Those notebooks, and something you saw in the stitch, led you to a bookie known as _The Woodchuck_. After you left the dive he uses as his base, you were followed to Cameron’s car. Cameron said that it seemed like you noticed the stalker and were about to say something to him, though he only realized this afterward. Anyway, next thing he knew, there was a gunshot and you were pushing him out of the way. The person who followed you ran away and Cameron called 911, while putting pressure on your wound. The doc said that if he wasn’t there you probably would have died.”

Kirsten sat silently, taking this information in. She felt her eyes start to droop as a wave of tiredness hit her. She mumbled an apology to Camille and Linus, hoping that they understood.

The last thing she thought before she fell asleep was “ _Hopefully Cameron will be here next time I wake up.”_


	9. People Don't Listen When You Lecture...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirsten wakes up again and gets a lecture, and some other information...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> I got moved in and I have settled a little bit, so I finally had time to update today =). I hope you like this chapter. Please let me know what you think! Comments are always welcome! As usual, this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

As Kirsten became aware of the sounds around her again, she decided to keep her eyes closed as she could just some voices and wanted to know what they were saying.

The first voice Kirsten heard did not sound familiar to her, but based on the medical jargon the person was using, Kirsten assumed it was her doctor. But as she listened, she realized that it wasn’t her doctor. This doctor seemed to be in the middle of a lecture about stress and the heart, so Kirsten assumed the doctor was talking to Cameron. She began to wonder if he had been hospitalized too in the aftermath of their case, but Camille and Linus said Cameron was okay. Before she could continue this train of thought, Cameron interrupted the doctor.

“Thank you doctor, I am aware of the concerns. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

She heard a set of footsteps leaving, followed by Cameron’s sigh and his footsteps approaching the bed. Kirsten slowly opened her eyes, because she wanted to be sure that Cameron was really okay. Taking in his appearance, she noticed that his clothes were rumpled and he looked exhausted. She guessed that Cameron hadn’t really slept much after being sent home, and hadn’t left the hospital again since he returned.

Kirsten met Cameron’s eyes for just a moment, before she looked away from the intensity of them. The silence stretched out until Cameron softly said, “Hiya Stretch, how you doing?” She could tell he was holding off on the lecture for the moment, which was good because she had bigger fish to fry.

“Fine. What about you? Have you been sleeping here? Is your heart okay? Why was a doctor talking to you?”

Cameron chuckled humorlessly and lifted his left hand to rub at the back of his neck nervously. “Can’t get anything past you, can I princess? To answer your questions, I’m fine now. Yes I have slept here. Yes my heart is okay. The doctor was talking to me because the high amounts of stress from getting shot at and worrying about you caused some palpitations, but like I said, I’m fine now.”

Kirsten searched his face, looking to see if he was lying or making it seem better than it was. Upon finding nothing, she nodded, and Cameron bit his lip. Kirsten raised one eyebrow at him, and grudgingly stated, “I know you are dying to lecture me about safety Cameron, so just get it over with.”

“You know Skipper, it’s not like I enjoy lecturing you.” _And yet you’re going to do it anyway_ , thought Kirsten as she rolled her eyes. Cameron ignored her response, continuing with the speech he had planned. “You can’t just do whatever you want. I’m sure Maggie’s told you that you are an asset and you need to be protected. But what she might not have told you is that you are the only Stitcher who has been extremely compatible with the program. Losing you would set the program back years.”

“Cameron, you are also an asset to the program. If you think for one second that I would be willing to stitch into someone without you, or any other member of our team, you are wrong, so the program would be set back even if I hadn’t pushed you out of the way.” Kirsten continued to look nonplussed, and Cameron felt the stress and worry of the past week turning into anger at her disregard for her safety (even if he was touched by the fact that she would not stitch without him). He clenched his jaw in a fruitless attempt to calm himself down.

“That is beside the point. The point is that you keep putting yourself in danger by being reckless. The Stitchers program needs you alive and well to continue its research.” Cameron was purposely leaving himself out of it, because he knew that in his agitated state, he might very well say something he didn’t intend to. Foolishly, he didn’t count on Kirsten noticing that, and was unprepared for her response.

“So that’s it. If I died _the program_ would be set back or shut down. _The program_ is all that you care about? I thought we had become friends Cameron, but I guess not.”

That did it. Unable to control himself, Cameron started yelling.

“DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I WOULD HAVE SLEPT AT THE HOSPITAL ALMOST EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK IF THE ONLY THING I CARED ABOUT WAS THE PROGRAM?! I HAVE BARELY LEFT YOUR SIDE THE ENTIRE TIME YOU HAVE BEEN HERE-DOES THAT SOUND LIKE SOMEONE WHO ONLY CARES ABOUT THE PROGRAM?!”

Kirsten’s response was to blink slowly and say, “Then why has every concern you have voiced only been about the loss to the program if I had died? And why have you been avoiding me?”

“WHY- BECAUSE I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW DEVISTATED I WOULD FEEL IF YOU DIED. I CAN’T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT, LET ALONE PUT IT INTO WORDS FOR SOMEONE AS THICK-SKULLED AS YOU. AND I’VE BEEN AVOIDING YOU BECAUSE I LOVE YOU AND I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO TELL YOU OR HOW YOU’D REACT. Goddammit, I wasn’t supposed to say that to you.”

Cameron sank into the armchair at the bedside waiting for her to react.


	10. Everyone Wants To Escape Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameron returns home from the hospital to deal with the aftermath of telling Kirsten how he feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all,   
> Sorry for the delay in posting. Grad School for Chemical Engineering is intense, so I haven't had tons of time to write. As such, I won't be able to update as often, so please bear with me. I promise I am not giving up on this fic. (I will definitely go down with this ship.) As usual please let me know what you think-comments are always welcome. This is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Cameron sank into his bed, exhausted and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes until he saw black spots. He meant to stay at the hospital, but after he sat in the chair and looked at Kirsten’s face, he was overwhelmed by having told her how he felt. The look of shock on her face (and she said it was near impossible to surprise her) was too much for him, so he mumbled “I…Sorry. I have to go. Get well soon. Bye” as he ran out the door. Driving home, he must have broken a few traffic laws, hoping to put as much distance between himself and Kirsten as possible.

As distraught as Cameron was feeling now, he couldn’t regret telling her how he felt. He merely regretted the means by which he delivered the information. At the very least, he could continue to work with her without the pressure of hiding his feelings. Lately he had been feeling as though there was a weight on his shoulders pressing down on him and with every day it felt heavier, but now he felt lighter. He was still concerned about what she would say about it, but he knew that they could continue to work together.

Cameron needed to calm down, so he turned to baking. It always comforted him and before he knew it, every surface in his kitchen was filled with baked goods of all kinds-pies, cakes, cupcakes, strudels, etc. There was no way Cameron could eat them all, but he figured his coworkers (particularly Tim) would be pleased when all the extra food showed up in the break room.

Feeling somewhat calmer, but not yet calm enough to get out of his own mind, Cameron decided to watch some TV to avoid thinking. Soon, Cameron felt his eyes starting to droop and he moved so that he was in a more comfortable position. Before he could fall completely asleep, Cameron was startled awake by a loud knocking on his door.

Initially Cameron was going to ignore the knocking, but after a minute it was clear that whoever it was had no intention of leaving until he came to the door. Sighing, Cameron got up and shuffled over to the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He opened the door and blinked because it couldn’t be…but it was.

Kirsten was using the doorframe to support herself, and she looked extremely pale in the fluorescent hallway lights. She swayed slightly and Cameron stepped forward to grab her and brought her over to the couch, easing her down onto the cushions. He got her some water and watched as she drank it before he asked the obvious.

“Stretch, how did you get out of the hospital? How did you get here? Why did you leave? You are clearly in no condition to have left. We need to get you back there now. What if something had happened to you?!” Cameron’s voice was rising in anger, and he paused for a moment to take a breath and calm down a little.

“Cameron, you can’t just drop a bomb like that and run off without giving me a chance to respond. I checked myself out and came here to talk to you.”

Her voice was weaker than usual and that made him concerned, but he couldn’t help but chuckle wryly because of course she would leave the hospital to talk to him. _Of course._ And there was no way she would have been allowed to check out of the hospital in her current condition, meaning that she just walked out. _Of Course_.

“Kirsten we need to get you back to the hospital right now. You shouldn’t have left. They are probably searching for you right now.”

“Cameron, I’m not leaving here until we talk. And if you do bring me back to the hospital, I will just leave again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next: The Camsten feelings talk =)


	11. Communication is the Key to Success

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameron and Kirsten talk about their feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all,  
>  As usual this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine. Comments and criticism are definitely welcome, so please let me know what you think.

Cameron was debating whether to take Kirsten back to the hospital himself or to call Ayo and get her to come and attend to Kirsten’s medical needs. It was probably best that he bring Kirsten to the hospital and he was just about to tell her that he was taking her back there and there was nothing she could do about it when she spoke.

“Cameron, did you mean it?”

Cameron wasn’t really listening because he was still plotting how to get her back to the hospital so his response was a quiet “hmmm.”

“Cameron, I asked if you meant it when you said you're in love with me.”

This time he heard her and he turned to look her in the eye. “Of course I meant it. I’ve been in love with you for a while, but I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Kirsten nodded. “Is that why you have been acting weird recently?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Cameron nodded and trained his eyes on the floor. “Yeah. I just didn’t know how to tell you and I was afraid of how you’d respond. I honestly still am.”

“You were afraid of how I’d react?” Cameron thought she sounded doubtful.

“I know what it’s like to be rejected by someone you like, and it sucks. But I have never felt as strongly about anyone else as I do about you. So, yes, I’ve been afraid of how you’d respond because a rejection or dismissal would be awful.”

Cameron wished he could see the look on her face, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up from the floor because he also wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Then he felt a brush of fingers against his arm and he realized that she hadn’t rejected him outright, so maybe that was a good sign. He sat down on the coffee table and braved a look at Kirsten’s face, though he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

Kirsten’s face scrunched up as she tried to think through the haze of the pain medication. She wanted to talk to Cameron, but she had enough trouble conveying what she really meant when she wasn’t medicated, and she couldn’t screw it up. Luckily, Cameron was patient, sensing that she wanted to say something but was trying to figure it out.

“Cameron, for the longest time I have been bound by my condition. Working in the lab has allowed me to break free of it a little bit, but I still have trouble recognizing and processing my own emotions sometimes. So, I can't say with certainty that I am in love with you too, but I know that you are the most important person in my life. I wouldn’t jump in front of a bullet for most people, but I did it for you without hesitation and that means something. Please keep being patient with me while I work through this Cameron, because I think I might love you and I just can’t realize it yet.”

Cameron could hardly breathe. In all his worrying and planning for the moment he would tell her how he felt, he never imagined she would say anything like that. He just stared at Kirsten, his mouth opening and closing. He let out a hysterical giggle of sorts before he regained his senses.

“I can definitely do that. Now can I please take you back to the hospital?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking the next chapter will be Kirsten-oriented as she tries to figure out her feelings for Cameron.   
> Feel free to find me on tumblr. My username is Ohmylecter. (I reblog a lot of random things though.)


	12. "Perchance to Dream; Aye, There's the Rub.."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirsten sets to figuring things out as she recovers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took FOREVER. Being a chemical engineering grad student is ridiculously time consuming. In about a week though, finals will be over and I will have some more time to write and hopefully I will either finish this fic, or compile a bunch of chapters so that you won't have to wait so long between updates. Anyway, this chapter is a little longer than usual (hopefully it makes up a little bit for making you wait so long). 
> 
> As usual, this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine, and all comments and criticisms are welcome. =) I hope you enjoy.

Cameron didn’t actually make Kirsten go back to the hospital, but he did call Ayo to make sure she was okay and had any medical attention she might need. Ayo determined that she would be fine and that as long as she took it easy and there was someone nearby in case anything happened she wouldn’t have to return. Since Camille had been spending more time with Linus, Cameron decided that Kirsten would stay with him for the time being.

Kirsten was just glad she didn’t have to be stuck in the hospital anymore. Even though she was banned from the lab, Cameron’s place was quieter than the hospital which allowed her to think better, and looking through Cameron’s things kept her from being bored.

Cameron got called into the lab to run through some new filters and some updates to the stitching protocol, so Kirsten was left to her own devices for a few hours. After Cameron left, Kirsten put one of his DVDs in the player and settled into the couch to watch whatever movie she had picked. A few minutes in however, she started to drift off. Cursing her recovery for making her tired all the time, Kirsten succumbed to the pull of sleep.

As she slept, Kirsten dreamt.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In her dream she and Cameron were working a case and had followed a lead to an old, abandoned mansion about 40 minutes from the lab. As they neared the door of the estate, Cameron suggested that they call Fisher for backup, or at least to let someone know where they had gone, but Kirsten shrugged it off, saying they would call in as soon as they finished.

Kirsten pushed the door of the mansion open slowly; ignoring the groan made by the hinges, and stepped inside. Looking around she saw a sleeping bag and pillow set up near a small heater and a number of fast food wrappers littering the floor. Ignoring Cameron’s pleas to come back outside and call for help before the squatter returned, Kirsten walked over to the sleeping area and began to look around for evidence concerning the murder. Noticing a notebook peeking out from beneath the sleeping bag, Kirsten bent down to retrieve it, only to be hit over the head and knocked unconscious.

Groggily, Kirsten blinked and shook her head, trying to clear it and remember what happened. As the memories came flooding back, she sat up quickly, fighting off the nausea from moving so quickly. She was still in the front room of the mansion and the door was still open, but based on the lighting, at least 2 hours had passed since she and Cameron had arrived. Kirsten started to panic at this point because she could not see Cameron anywhere. Biting back her panic for a moment, she set to looking for him in the other rooms of the mansion, calling his name as she went. Cameron was nowhere to be found, and the panic started to flare up in Kirsten’s chest again. Back in the main room, Kirsten noticed a note on the floor by the door, probably torn out of the notebook she had found.

Gingerly, Kirsten opened the note and read it, her panic rising and her usually calm façade slipping away. The squatter had taken Cameron hostage, and would kill him if she didn’t drop her investigation into the murder. Sinking to her knees, Kirsten reached for her phone to call Fischer and Maggie and was relieved to find it was still in her pocket.

An hour later she was standing on the front porch of the mansion, impatiently describing everything that had happened to Fisher. As she finished recounting the events, Camille and Linus pulled into the driveway, took one look at Kirsten’s face, and ran up to hug her. Normally she would have pushed them off, but their presence seemed to ease the knot in her gut a tiny bit.

She rode with Linus and Camille back to the lab, where she immediately started setting up a command center in the break room with everything they knew about the case and Cameron’s kidnapping, knowing that she would not stop until Cameron was safe back home.

It had been 3 days. 3 days, and Kirsten had only left the lab to shower (and she had only done that because Camille had threatened to remove her from the lab and to the house by force). She hadn’t slept and she had barely touched the food that Camille and Linus had brought for her. She knew that the more time that passed, the more difficult it would be to find Cameron, but she ~~would not~~ could not give up. Finding Cameron would be the only way to ease the knot of panic and dread that had taken up residence in her gut. It was like she didn’t know how to function without him, and maybe she couldn’t. Staring at the board, she had a breakthrough. Standing up, she called Fischer as she ran to the door, ready to save Cameron, and to begin to function again.

Fisher and his SWAT team had stormed into the abandoned train depot, and had come out with the suspect in handcuffs. Kirsten couldn’t stop herself from rushing forward to find Cameron, heart pounding from the fear and adrenaline. Cameron was sitting in a chair, semi-conscious, as some members of the SWAT team worked to free him. She rushed over, grabbed his face in her hands, and kissed him, not realizing that she was crying until one of his newly freed hands came up to brush the tears from her cheeks. “You’re okay. You’re okay,” Kirsten kept whispering to herself, trying to calm her heart down until it stopped feeling like it was going to beat out of her chest. Cameron was crying too at this point, and he kept saying her name louder and louder until her dream started to dissolve…

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Kirsten came back to herself, the first thing she noticed was how fast her heart was beating, and how shallow her breathing was. Then she realized that she was drenched in sweat and that Cameron was looking at her with concern in his eyes. Internally, she sighed in relief. It was a dream, and nothing had happened to Cameron. He was okay and her heart started to slow down to its normal speed as he held her, rubbing her back and murmuring it’s going to be okay into her hair.

Well, Kirsten thinks, I guess that answers the question of how I feel about Cameron….

Now all she has to do is tell him.


	13. "Don't Find Love, Let Love Find You...."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameron comforts Kirsten after her dream, and they talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is excited for Season 2??!?!?!?! I know I am. Sorry it has been FOREVER-I promise I haven't abandoned this fic! As usual, this is un-beta'd and all mistakes are mine. Let me know what you think!

The whole time Cameron was at the lab, Kirsten was on his mind. He was constantly worrying that she was going to be trying to do something and aggravate her injury. Linus had to take his phone away from him because he kept checking it every other minute to see if Kirsten had called or texted. Since Cameron was only expecting the updates and filters to take about 2-3 hours, Cameron hadn’t thought it would be necessary to have someone looking after Kirsten, but since they were going on hour five he regretted that decision. Luckily, they were almost done and he would be able to head home. 

As Cameron exited the elevator he tried to call Kirsten to check up on her and ask if she had any plans for takeout, but she didn’t answer. Hoping that she was just asleep, Cameron picked up the takeout as fast as possible and rushed to get home before he panicked. 

It took Cameron a few more tries than usual to open his door because of the food in his arms and the shaking of his hands from his near panic. Stepping inside, he threw the bag of food on the counter and walked into the living area, relaxing slightly as he noticed the menu for a movie on the TV screen. Before he could completely calm down, he heard gasping coming from the couch. Rushing around to the front of it, Cameron noticed Kirsten covered in sweat, her face scrunched tightly in her sleep. After a short internal debate, Cameron decided to wake her up by calling her name. 

The second Kirsten opened her eyes, Cameron gently pulled her into a seated position, rubbing her back and murmuring “it’s okay” into her ear repeatedly. As her breathing evened out, Cameron pulled back to give her room and to look at her face, but he didn’t get very far because Kirsten pulled him back in and rested her head in the crook of his neck. A few minutes later she pulled away and sat up on the couch so that there was plenty of room for Cameron. He moved to sit next to her and asked, “Want to tell me what your dream was about?”

After a short pause Kirsten recounted the details of her dream, drawing comfort from Cameron’s presence as he listened patiently, rubbing the back of her hand in a gesture of comfort. Cameron could tell that there was something more that Kirsten wanted to tell him, but that she didn’t know how to say what exactly it was she was thinking. She looked puzzled and frustrated, which was how she looked after a stitch when the residual emotions were affecting her, and she was trying to work out what they meant. Cameron decided to remain silent, waiting for Kirsten to put her thoughts into words.

Kirsten knew this was the point from which there would be no return. She now knew how she felt about Cameron, but she still wasn’t sure how to tell him that. Usually, she would just say exactly what she was thinking, but this situation seemed different to her, more important than anything else. Kirsten took a deep breath in to steady herself and began talking.

“Cameron, I need to tell you something, and it might not be a surprise to you at this point, but it is new to me. In my dream I was terrified. Not for myself, but for you-that you would be hurt or killed. I probably should have realized that jumping in the path of a bullet to push you out of the way wasn’t exactly a normal reaction, but since when have I ever been normal?”

Cameron huffed a laugh of agreement, trying to ease her discomfort, and saw Kirsten relax slightly as he said, “Cupcake, being different is one of the reasons I love you.” Cameron panicked internally after saying that so casually; worried that Kirsten might feel pressure to say something in return or might close herself off. Instead, Kirsten seemed to relax even further and to be slightly relieved.

“Anyway, I took some time to think, and my reaction to the events in my dream was so intense that I realized that I love you too Cameron. I think I have loved you for a while now, and I just didn’t know what it was. I should have realized it sooner, but I know now. I love you.”

Cameron could barely believe what he was hearing. He sat frozen on the couch after Kirsten’s declaration, as if moving would make her take it all back. Kirsten reached out and stroked his face, grounding him in the present and confirming that he had heard correctly. Cameron’s answering smile was blinding.


	14. "It's the Life in Your Years That Counts" ~Abraham Lincoln

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue: Life after Kirsten's realization and confession + a 1.5 year flash forward

                Everything and nothing changed with Kirsten’s declaration. She stayed with Cameron until she had been deemed well enough to return to work. Before her confession, she felt a little strange being in Cameron’s space all the time, though that was overshadowed by her desire to know everything about him. That probably should have been an indication of what she was feeling, but it didn’t come across as such to her at the time. Now that she was free to do as she pleased she chose to spend her time at Cameron’s, curled up into his side on the couch, watching Dr. Who or quizzing him about every aspect of his life before she met him.

                The team was glad to have Kirsten back at work, as they could actually tackle some new cases. However, it did seem that they might have been more happy that the two were finally together- especially Tim from Engineering, seeing as he won the office pool on when they would come to their senses. Upon finding this out, Kirsten just raised an eyebrow in cool disapproval and Cameron just seemed shocked, like he couldn’t believe that Linus was in on the pool. To no one’s surprise, it was revealed that the pool was Camille’s idea.

                At work, Kirsten and Cameron continued with their back-and-forth banter and ridiculous nicknames. After work, they would return to Cameron’s apartment, where Cameron would cook dinner for them and they would talk about their childhood, the latest show they had watched, or whatever movie Cameron had referenced before the stitch that day.

                It was clear to everyone that Kirsten had changed from the day she joined the Stitchers program, but the changes were even more obvious since she had realized her feelings for Cameron and they had become a couple.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

                A year and a half after they got together, Cameron decided to propose. He was a little worried that it would be too fast for Kirsten, especially given how long it had taken them to get together, but he had decided that if she said no he would deal with it, and hopefully she would eventually come around.

                Cameron chose to propose at home, after a homemade meal of her favorite Thai foods. Kirsten had settled on the couch, waiting for him to pick the movie for that night. He loaded his choice into the Blu-ray player and walked back over to the couch. Initially, Kirsten looked confused as to why he didn’t just sit down next to her, but when he dropped down on one knee that look faded into one of surprise. (And she said she couldn’t be surprised!)

                “Kirsten, the day we met you were this beautiful, unapproachable woman. You were also infuriating at times, more than anyone else I had ever met.” Cameron and Kirsten both chuckled at that. “But I got to know you, and to uncover what is underneath that unapproachable façade. I knew I loved you when you refused to follow the rules on our first case, but I didn’t tell you until you almost died saving me from a bullet. I’m so happy I did, and I’m happier that you felt the same, even if you didn’t know it at the time. In the year and a half we’ve been together you’ve infuriated and challenged me, but you have also reminded me daily how amazing you are and how much better I am when we are together. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you if you’ll have me. Kirsten Clark, will you marry me?”

                Cameron had been watching Kirsten the entire time, and had seen her eyes slowly fill with tears. He opened the ring box just as the tears started to overflow and he leaned forward to cup her face and wipe the tears off her face with his thumb.

                “Yes. Cameron, I want to spend the rest of my life as your wife.” Cameron let out a relieved chuckle as he slipped the ring onto her finger, signifying the start of rest of their lives together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with this fic! I had a lot of fun writing this fic, even if my sporadic updating did not reflect that. I have ideas for two new fics (a drabble and a multichapter fic), so maybe look out for them. Hopefully I'll have them done and uploaded sometime soon. Thanks again for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fic ever so constructive criticism is very welcome. This is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine. I had this as a one-shot but I decided to add more chapters because of the response. I will try to update weekly, but it might not be on the same day each week, depending on my schedule. Thanks for reading!


End file.
